They Do Exist, And I Was Propositioned By One

Entering Iran we were swarmed by some men who requested a picture with us and were interested in Trevor’s solar panel.  At the border we exchanged the last 20 Lira left over from Turkey and worked off of that for the next couple of days.  We were each stocked up on two tubs of chocolate spread we picked up in Turkey so we didn’t need to spend much on food early on in Iran.  We miss those chocolate tubs from Turkey.  They were so delicious and went very well with the yummy bread here in Iran.

From my research prior to entering Iran I was aware that the people are very friendly.  It didn’t take long to see just that as we were stopped by a few guys in a truck and they gave us melon shakes as well as a plum each.  Later we stopped for some fruit at a stand on the roadside and ended up sharing a complimentary melon with these two generous guys.  Pretty much every day we received at least one freebie from someone. 

Many people drove up to us and asked about what we were doing and if they could help us out in any way possible.  In Zanjan, we met a nice man who offered for us to spend the night at his place.  We politely declined as we wanted to do a bit more cycling that day.  Plus Trevor feels a bit out of place and under their control in a stranger’s home.    

We did have a few instances where we were yet again confused as to what just went down.  This one particular guy we met was a bit too friendly for my liking.  Entering Tabriz we were stopped by this man who got out of his car and then repeated something in Farsi numerous times I didn’t understand.  Then he says thanks and gets into his car.  After reclining his seat, he asks me to massage his thigh.  I was obviously very confused.  He showed he was having leg spasms and wanted me to massage his leg.  I was thinking massage your own leg, you have two free hands.  So I got weirded out and said no sorry and then cycled on.  He said okay thanks and drove off.  After Trevor said he got huge gay vibes.  I guess my gaydar was off at the time because I didn’t think of that when speaking to him.  But in hindsight I guess that was probably the deal.  According to their president, they do not exist in Iran but I have to say… pretty sure they do.    

And second, this motorcyclist zoomed by us and mimicked machine gunning us down.  That left us a bit down and out that morning.  Didn’t quite understand the gesture. 

It had been a while since we met fellow bicycle tourists but one day we passed two.  The first was an English guy who is in the homestretch of his around-the-world journey.  He had been on the road one year and cycled from Nova Scotia to San Francisco, then cycled around New Zealand and Australia, then from Singapore all the way to Iran.  He said he has another two and a half months to go before he makes it back to his home in the Lake District of England.  I could tell he felt very happy to be nearing home.  The other cyclist was a Swede who started in Sweden and plans to take the Pamir Highway into China.  The Pamir Highway is one route I would like to tackle someday but not on this trip.

All the dry air I was breathing in and being on a diet of chalky water and dry bread early on caused me to have some more ‘plumbing’ problems.  In the past, I had problems of constantly going and now it was the other way around.  I think though it may have been dehydration that caused these recent troubles. Water is a bit more difficult to get here as there aren’t any roadside water fountains like we had in Turkey and the Balkans.  As such, we usually filled up with chalky water at gas stations. 

The grades were quite gentle all the way to Tehran.  Never had any real steep hills to climb which was a pleasant change.  We did have some fierce headwinds that weren’t fun.

In northwestern Iran there was an earthquake that hit almost a week ago.  We had no clue there was one but we were actually quite close to it when it happened.  Trevor guessed maybe 60 to 90km away. 

We arrived in Tehran a few days ago and have applied for the Uzbek visas.  Unfortunately there is a holiday sometime next week so we now have to wait a further three days on top of the one week we already had to wait.  We both hate waiting.  Plus Trevor seems to have stunk up the hotel we are staying at with his smelly feet.  The smell was so bad on the first day he was asked to put his shoes on the rooftop.  I don’t think the staff at this particular hotel are very fond of us.  So this gives us more reason to get out of Tehran as quickly as possible.  The plan now is to jump back on the bikes tomorrow and head south towards Esfahan.  Then take the train or bus back to Tehran when the visas are ready for pick up.  

Here I am working on one of my tubs of chocolate in this sheltered hut we found by the roadside.

Trevor fixing a flat he couldn’t locate early one morning.  Almost every day Trevor’s tires are a bit flat.  He has inspected his tires but cannot find any puncture.  He suspects a small leak somewhere but isn’t bothered to do a thorough examination.  So he just continues to pump his tires every so often.

Some nice mountainous scenery en route.

Here I am in Tabriz downing some chalky water.  I read in my Lonely Planet that this city may have been the gates of paradise to the Garden of Eden.  Well that is according to some biblical clues.  I don’t know much about that stuff but I must say the city didn’t look like paradise to me.

A quick stop to take in the scenery. 

I was wondering when it would happen.  For the first time on this trip we had been discovered while stealth camping.  This sheep herder found us after his dog barked at us.  We tried to speak to one another but he knew no English and I knew no Farsi so the exchange didn’t last long.  He was cool about us camping and let us be.  Nice guy.

Sad to see my President’s Choice water bottle go, but after four and a half months of reusing the bottle I think it was time to replace it.  It had some green stuff growing inside it so it has been tossed.  Same deal for Trevor’s water bottle so he threw his out too.

Had a huge scare which left me shaking in my shoes.  We were cycling down a road and all of a sudden there is an explosion right next to us.  Dust and debris goes flying everywhere and the noise was damaging to the ears.  I immediately stop trying to figure out what just happened.  I thought maybe the trucker ahead didn’t like us and wanted to bomb us.  But Trevor said no, that kind of thing doesn’t happen in Iran.  Turns out the back tire of this truck blew up.  

I still don’t quite get the sanctions going on in Iran.  I thought we wouldn’t be seeing the name brands we see in the west.  But here I am with a Canada Dry.  It does note though the product was made in Iran but under the authority of Schweppes Holdings Limited.  But I have seen other name brands where their products were made in the USA or Europe.  Or maybe these sanctions just apply to stuff like oil, petrol, banking and shipping.  I don’t know.  Another thing that confuses me is the exchange rate for Iranian Rials.  Inflation is crazy here.  When I check online for the rate it states 1USD = 12,300IRR and 1EUR = 15,090IRR or thereabouts.  But the rates we have received are 1USD = 21,000IRR and 1EUR = 26,000IRR.  So I am confused once again. 

Trevor taking cover from the hot heat.  It’s very warm here.

Entering Tehran was complete chaos.  The city is a nightmare to cycle in.  Cars and buses everywhere; motorbikes weaving in and out of traffic coming from all directions; traffic lights not working.  We saw two motorbikes collide and a fight break out coming in.  With all this madness, I needed a milk break. 

The Swiss embassy got me out of a pickle yet again much like they did when I was robbed in South Africa back in 2010.  Tough to figure out online what is true when it comes to visa procedures in different countries.  I had the understanding going in that Swiss nationals did not require a Letter of Invitation for Uzbekistan.  After walking 5km from the metro station to the Uzbek embassy in Tehran and then waiting 3 hours outside the embassy we were shunned away for not having an LOI.  I was down and out as an LOI takes two weeks to retrieve.  That would have meant 3 weeks to get the Uzbek visas and we would have to extend our Iranian visas as well.  That said, they also would accept a verbal note from our embassy in place of the LOI.  This I did not know and I don’t think is well known over the Internet.  So we raced to the Swiss embassy the same day after walking many more kilometers in the heat.  Very nice walking into the Swiss embassy as everything was clean, calm and cool inside.  At a cost of 780,000 Rials they issued us a verbal note on the spot.  This was a HUGE relief.  My dumb luck paid off.  I could have played it safe and arranged an LOI three weeks ago but thought I’d see what the deal was when we arrived in Tehran.  We don’t have them yet in our passports but things are looking good.  After we get them, the stress will continue as we will need to get the Turkmenistan transit visas but plan to do so in Mashhad with the help of a man named Vali who runs a homestay there.  Hope things go to plan because our Iranian visas end September 7^th, 2012 and that is around the time we plan to cross into Turkmenistan.  All in all, I am a bit stressed out because if something goes wrong it could really suck.  Ahhhh… the joys of ‘Stan visas…

Trevor excited and thrilled to be in front of the Azadi Freedom Tower in Tehran.

To kill some time here in Tehran I went for a little stroll around town today.  Not much was open though as it is Friday which is like our Sunday.  I always enjoy checking out bazaars and walked through a few of them.